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Mastercam X3 Mill, developed by CNC Software, offers expanded machining flexibility and an increased emphasis on speed and automation. Feature-based machining (FBM), high speed tool motion and faster toolpath generation combine with additional enhancements in a package designed to improve shopfloor productivity.

Valuable for experienced users and easy enough for new users, FBM evaluates a part’s features and automatically designs an effective machining strategy to mill and drill solid models, the company says. FBM can detect solid machining features for pocketing, contouring and drilling routines. Other FBM capabilities include machining pockets using 2D HST roughing, rest mill and finish operations; automatically creating drilled, tapped, counterbored and countersunk holes; and automatically performing spot drilling and pre-drilling based on user-controlled settings. All tool paths are fully associative and can be edited after creation.

The software can also be used for high speed machining in 2D applications. Although optimized for high speed cutting and hard milling, these 2D tool paths offer surface-finish benefits and lengthen tool life. They can make processes more efficient and automated while minimizing programming and cycle times, the company says.

The software improves multi-axis toolpath speed and introduces high speed toolpath controls. Both the Port5ax and Flow5ax tool paths include a feature that allows users to add an overlap/blend at the beginning and end of a tool path.